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Chiropractic Adjustments Improve Reaction Time

A landmark research effort from the New Zealand School of Chiropractic, University of Auckland, New Zealand has evaluated the effects chiropractic adjustments may have on reaction times. Two groups were tested to study variations in reaction times, one group received upper cervical toggle adjustments , while the other group , only receiving a short period of rest, acted as a control group for comparison.

The results? There was a marked improvement for the group that received an adjustment over the group that got nothing but rest. The group that got only a rest period did show an average decrease in reaction time: 58 milliseconds, an 8% faster reaction time. The group that received the chiropractic adjustment showed a decrease in reaction time of 97 milliseconds, representing a 14.8% faster reaction time.

The implications for these findings are far reaching for any activity in the “game of life,” and the data can also objectively support anecdotal evidence of enhanced athletic performance under chiropractic care. The ability to react more quickly to any of the demands life can impose provides added performance enhancement benefits for athletes, who rely on optimum reaction reflexes to perform at their maximum competitive capacity. Field based practice experiences indicate that chiropractic care appears to both enhance an athlete’s ability to perform and to recover from injuries when they occur; this study provides objective evidence that a vital component of athletic performance – rapid reaction time – is markedly improved through the chiropractic adjustment.